Olympic Athletes Benefiting From E-Waste Recycling

For this years 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympics Games being held in Vancouver later this month, the champion athletes will continue to win medals around their necks, but this time the metals used to make their awards will be coming from a new, surprising source – Recycled Electronic Waste.

Parts of the metals being used were salvaged from the recycling of computer monitor and television circuit boards. Teck Resources LTD., Canada’s largest base-metals producer, will be using this recycled gold, silver and copper to make the laser-etched prizes.

Being that most of the athletes participating in these games have been practicing outdoor sports for the majority of their lives, it is only fitting that such a sustainable process is being used to reward their hard work while reducing their carbon footprint. Ideas like these will help keep our environment clean for future athletes to grow up participating in outdoor sports.

“I would be extremely proud to have a medal made of recycled metals,” said U.S. speedskater Katherine Reutter, 21.

It is through companies like Capitol Asset Recycling, which has been re-using and recycling electronic equipment for over 20 years that creative ideas like this stem from.

“The connection between Tech and the Olympics isn’t obvious, so tying Tech with recycled metals at the Olympics is very clever because it gives them a sustainability association,” said David Dunne, professor of marketing at University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.